KARACHI:
A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) report said attacks on Pakistan by the terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghanistan have increased, endorsing Islamabad’s long-standing complaints about militant sanctuaries across the border.
The 37th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, dated February 4, not only endorsed Islamabad’s position that Afghanistan had become a sanctuary for militants using its territory to launch attacks against Pakistan, but it also came at a time when the country is facing a new wave of violence.
Last week, at least 33 people were killed and around 169 others injured when a suicide bomber struck Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra during Friday prayers. Security forces also concluded ‘Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1’ in Balochistan following coordinated terrorist attacks. According to the army, 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed during the operations, while 22 security and law enforcement personnel “made the ultimate sacrifice.” It says 216 terrorists were also “sent to hell.”
The presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan remains a source of concern in Central and South Asia, according to a UN report.
“There was an increase in attacks in Pakistan launched by the TTP (Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan) in Afghanistan, which led to military exchanges. Regional relations remained fragile. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K) was under sustained counterterrorism pressure, but it retained a powerful capability, coupled with its intention to conduct external operations,” he said.
The report also highlights regional countries’ concern over the number of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and its knock-on effects, including cross-border attacks and the radicalization of vulnerable domestic communities.
He said de facto Afghan authorities claimed there were no terrorist groups within Afghanistan’s borders, but “no member state supported this view.”
It adds: “The de facto authorities continued to act against ISIL-K and to control the external activities of some other groups. The TTP was, however, granted more freedom and support from the de facto authorities, and as a result TTP attacks on Pakistan increased, amplifying regional tensions. »
The report also states that Al-Qaeda continues to benefit from the patronage of de facto authorities and acts as a service provider and multiplier for other terrorist groups in Afghanistan through training and advice, primarily for the benefit of the TTP.
He further added that the TTP was one of the largest terrorist groups in Afghanistan and its attacks on Pakistani security forces and state structures had led to a military confrontation. The attacks were increasingly complex and sometimes involved large numbers of fighters, he notes.
The report cites an attack on an Islamabad courthouse on November 11 that left 12 people dead and was claimed by a TTP splinter group. He described the incident as the first attack in the capital in several years and a departure from previous TTP targeting.
“Some member states have expressed concern that the TTP may deepen its cooperation with Al-Qaeda-aligned groups to attack a wider range of targets, which could result in an extra-regional threat.”
The report describes Pakistan’s actions against the TTP as a major setback for the group.
“The TTP suffered several operational setbacks, including the death of Mufti Muzahim (TTP deputy emir, not listed) during a Pakistani operation in October,” the statement said.
The report also draws attention to a series of attacks by the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) against Pakistani security forces and projects linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“On September 16, the BLA ambushed a Pakistani military convoy patrolling the corridor, killing 32 soldiers. Even though Pakistan-led counterterrorism operations limited the BLA’s operational space, it remained active.”
He added that some member states reported that the BLA collaborated with the TTP and ISIL-K through training camps and shared resources, coordinating attacks and meetings between commanders. Some Member States considered that there was no association or growing links between the BLA and Al-Qaeda or ISIL.
The report states that various groups in Afghanistan have acquired modern weapons and equipment through cross-border smuggling and the black market.
“The TTP used advanced assault rifles, night vision devices, thermal imaging devices, sniper systems and drone attack systems. Most of these were provided by the de facto authorities in conjunction with weapons permits and travel documents,” it said.
However, the report highlights that several member states have noted that the continued proliferation of weapons from stockpiles left by former partners in the Global Coalition against Daesh has increased the lethality of TTP attacks against Pakistani security forces.
The report states that member states remain concerned about potential flows of fighters, particularly from Central Asia, to Afghanistan or Africa.
It says Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) remains active in southeastern Afghanistan, where the Haqqani network exerts considerable influence. Osama Mahmoud, the “emir” of AQIS, and Yahya Ghauri, his deputy, are said to be in Kabul, with the AQIS media cell based in Herat.
According to the report, ISIL-K remained under significant pressure, mainly due to security operations carried out by regional states, but retained a strong operational capacity and the ability to replenish its ranks, including through online recruitment,
The report said ISIL-K was able to quickly replace its fighters and maintain its combat capability despite continuing counterterrorism operations.
“The pressure campaign has pushed ISIL-K to seek alliances with other armed factions in different regions of Afghanistan,” the statement said.
He adds that ISIL-K is active mainly in northern Afghanistan, particularly in Badakhshan, and in areas near the Pakistani border. The report said the group continues to expand its network of cells to project threat in the region and beyond.
Furthermore, the report indicates that members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement/Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP) were able to move freely in Afghanistan under the patronage of the de facto authorities.
“Under the patronage of the de facto authorities, which included the issuance of identity documents, ETIM/TIP members were able to move freely within Afghanistan and gradually concentrated in Badakhshan,” the statement said.
According to one member state cited in the report, ETIM/TIP members raised funds through poppy cultivation and mining. The report indicates that around 250 members would have joined the Taliban police force in 2025.
It also cites a member state as saying that ETIM/TIP in Afghanistan has called on its members in the Syrian Arab Republic and neighboring countries to move to Afghanistan with a view to “returning to Xinjiang for jihad.”
The UN assessment says there is no information indicating a large-scale movement of foreign terrorist fighters from the Syrian Arab Republic into Afghanistan, although a few isolated cases have been reported.
Central Asian states, in particular, remain concerned about the potential risk of Central Asian fighters moving to northern Afghanistan to plan attacks against their home countries.
The report also said that foreign terrorist fighters were allegedly trained in dedicated camps in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.
Pakistan’s allegations against Afghanistan and India for supporting terrorism
Pakistan has repeatedly highlighted an Afghanistan-India nexus behind terrorism in the country. The Interior Minister said earlier this week that the mastermind of the attack was an Afghan citizen linked to Daesh.
In November 2024, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had issued a warning that the Afghan regime posed a threat not only to Pakistan but to the entire region and the world, citing the abandonment of $7.2 billion worth of US military equipment during the US withdrawal.
Lt Gen Chaudhry reiterated that the Afghan regime harbored “non-state actors” who posed a threat to various countries in the region, highlighting the Taliban’s failure to establish an inclusive state and government after 2021. He stressed that Pakistan’s problem was with the Afghan Taliban regime and not the Afghan people.
After the conflict with India in May 2025, Field Marshal Asim Munir had declared that Pakistan would never be coerced and that all hostile designs aimed at derailing the country’s counter-terrorism efforts would be “completely defeated”.
Last year in August, the 1988 annual report of the UN Taliban Sanctions Committee Monitoring Team said the banned terrorist groups – BLA, including its Majeed Brigade, and TTP – had “close coordination”.
The report says regional relations remain fragile and “there is a risk that terrorist groups will exploit these regional tensions.” He adds that the TTP had approximately 6,000 fighters and continued to receive substantial logistical and operational support from the de facto authorities (the Taliban).
“Some Member States have reported that the TTP has tactical level links with ISIL-K or Daesh,” the statement said. “The TTP continued to carry out high-profile attacks in the region, some of which resulted in numerous casualties,” the report added.
The UNSC report said “some BLA attacks showed a high degree of complexity and brutality,” citing the hijacking of the Jaffar Express in Balochistan on March 11, 2025, which killed 31 people, including 21 hostages.
In 2023, a UN report also revealed that the banned TTP had established a new base in KP by mid-2023. The report highlights the close ties not only between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban, but also with anti-Pakistan groups and Al-Qaeda.
The report further reveals that some Taliban members have also joined the TTP, seeing it as a religious obligation to provide support.
Interlocutors reported that TTP members and their families regularly received aid from the Taliban.
Importantly, the UN report noted a significant increase in the number of Afghan nationals in the ranks of the TTP. This supports Pakistan’s position that an increasing number of Afghan nationals are involved in suicide attacks in the country.
